Spirit Horse
by Loselen Snowstar
Summary: After five years of begging, Chihiro's parents have finally gotten her a horse. But there's something a little bit strange about it... My first S.A. fic ever! R&R please!


Chihiro stopped Kito and looked at her parents. They weren't watching her lesson as they usually did. Instead they were talking quietly with their heads together. They obviously hadn't seen her take the jump, if they had, they would have been cheering so loud that they'd spook the horses.  
  
Chihiro circled Kito and aimed for the tires instead. He cantered up to the jump with the slow, lumbering pace that Chihiro couldn't get used to. Maybe this time they'll see me, she thought as Kito hopped over the jump.  
  
The rest of the lesson went that way, Chihiro jumping the course with her instructor yelling instructions ("Heels down!" "Check your diagonal!" "Sit up strait!"), and her parents not noticing how well she was doing.  
  
Chihiro left her lesson with a feeling of disappointment. She had really hoped that her parents would watch her lesson, since it was the first time she had ridden a different horse in six months. ~*~ Oh well, riding is still fun, ~*~ a smile crept over her face, ~*~ just because Mom and Dad aren't watching me doesn't mean I can't have fun...sure is different from riding a dragon. ~*~ Chihiro stopped that train of thought abruptly. Every single lesson she thought something like that.  
  
She had agreed to her Mom's idea of taking riding lessons only as a way of keeping her mind off of the spirit world. She had loved riding like a fish loves water. In the five years since her adventures, she had improved drastically, going from falling off as soon as she got on to taking three foot jumps.  
  
She put Kito back in his stall and gave him a grooming that her mother would call "a lick and a promise." She gave Kito a pat on the neck and walked to the car.  
  
Her parents were still discussing whatever it was they had been talking about in the ring. Chihiro didn't pay any attention though. She was thinking about Haku and all of her other friends in the spirit world. She knew it hadn't been a dream, because she still had the hair tie that Zeniba, Baby and Noh-face had given her. She still wore it in her hair every day.  
  
When Chihiro got home she took off her boots and made a beeline for the computer. ~*~Good, she smiled, ~*~Mitsu is on. ~*~  
  
The IM conversation went something like this:  
  
dragonrider15: Mitsu! It's about time you were back! Where were you all week?  
  
theEVILcat: Sorry! One of my rabbits chewed through the phone cord, so our internet's been out. So, what's life been like?  
  
dragonrider15: School starts in three weeks! I'm trying to cram all the summer I've wasted into three weeks!  
  
theEVILcat: You had to remind me didn't you! Let us now have a moment of silence to mourn the death of summer vacation.  
  
dragonrider15: It's not over yet! We'll mourn on the first day of school.  
  
theEVILcat: Okay!  
  
"Chihiro!" Chihiro's mother called up the stairs, "Come down here! Your father and I want to talk to you!"  
  
dragonrider15: O.O Eep! My mom just called me in that tone of voice that says you're either in big trouble or they're about to give you the best news of your life!  
  
theEVILcat: See you later then!  
  
dragonrider15: Later!  
  
Chihiro walked slowly down the stairs and into the living room "What is it?" her voice came out a lot shakier than she had intended.  
  
"Well, your mother and I were talking," her father said, "about your riding lessons."  
  
"You see, Chihiro," her mother said, "You've been taking lessons for five years and after watching you improve for so long..." Her voice trailed off.  
  
Chihiro's father continued, "So we've decided that you're ready for a horse of your own." He said this all very fast.  
  
Chihiro's face went from worried to confused to happy to ecstatic in one second flat, "Really?! Wait until my friends hear! They'll be so happy for me! Oh, this is great! Thank you so much!" she hugged both of her parents and ran for the phone, "I'll call them right now!"  
  
"Are you sure that this was a good idea Yuriko?" Chihiro's father asked.  
  
"Positive, Seiji," Yuriko said softly.  
  
***********  
  
Yayness! A couple of things:  
  
1. Noh-face's name: the 'h' was not a typo. I think that the name is "Noh- face", as in a Noh mask, like the one he wears.  
  
2. I didn't write the IM conversation in net speak because it would be confusing and I don't know what kind of net speak they would use in Japan.  
  
3. I'm not sure what to name the horse that Chihiro will get. I'm going to name it after one of the horses at my stable, but I'm not sure which one, sooo, I'm going to let the readers vote on it! Here are the options:  
  
Szuka, Hannah, Leo, Karuso, Lady hawk, Rascal, or Murray. 


End file.
